The Nice Guy's Guide To Getting The Girl
by obriens
Summary: Daryl finds a few magazines in the kitchen. There's an article that caught his eye. He never thought he would follow fucking advices from "Men's Health", but Tyreese was getting a little too close to Carol. Daryl didn't like it, and apparently, nor did Judy.


_Summary: Tyreese gives Carol a bouquet of lilacs he found during a run. Daryl doesn't like it because flowers and Carol are his thing, not Tyreese's. Apparently, little Judy doesn't like it either._

_n/a; this is my second time writing caryl, feel free to judge. this was based off a prompt by uss-caryl. i changed the ending line a little bit, i hope you don't mind janne! (edit; this is turning into a series of one shots due to the public'a request! hope you all like it)_

_prompt; Picture Tyrese crushing on Carol and picks wild flowers for her as a gift. Jealous Daryl tries to act like he doesn't care but he can't help but stare :) And the last line of the fic is from Carol to Daryl with a wink "Tyrese's flowers are nice but what I love are Cherokee roses."_

_edit; so this was supposed to be a one shot, but i decided to turn it into a story. it won't be longer than 10 chapters. the summary here will only apply to this step, the one outside is for the whole story. here, daryl hasn't found the magazine yet, that comes later. i'm sorry if it confuses you, i promise i'll make up for it_

* * *

They were purple.

Daryl decided he didn't like purple now. Purple was bright and happy and shiny and it matched nearly everything, including her eyes, cause they were blue, and purple was blue and red together. Purple was nice.

That didn't mean he liked it.

He knew it was none of his business, that it was just a sign of affection, that he shouldn't be glaring at the man and chewing on his fingernails until he reached the raw flesh and it hurt. Yet, his mind kept telling him that it was, in fact, his business, and that he had every right to glare at him because he was giving flowers to_ her_, and everyone knew _she_ was off limits.

But then again, she wasn't his. She never was and never will be. She was too good for him, he wasn't worthy of her love. No one was. But Tyreese was a gentleman, even if he was huge and intimidating, he was the closest thing to Prince Charming in this fucked up world. So yeah, he wasn't good enough for her, but Tyreese was better than him, so if she liked Tyreese he wouldn't oppose. At least not aloud.

That didn't mean his stomach wouldn't clench uncomfortably and his nostrils didn't flare.

"Oh my God, Tyreese!" she squealed, "These are beautiful!"

Daryl's jaw clenched. Tyreese looked so pleased with that stupid grin of his so wide and with teeth so white it was blinding. The guy was fucking shining. And so was her. When he handed her those lilacs, her face lit up in a way he would've found endearing had he been the one to cause it. But he hadn't, so his blood was boiling. Flowers were his thing. Sure, he hadn't given Carol a bouquet of red roses, but he had given her one single rose with a meaning behind it. And she cried and smiled. He took that as a good sign. Cheeroke roses were something special between them, some sort of symbol that would always remain. When he had thought she was dead, he put one on her grave. It wasn't an attempt of recovering hope anymore, it was a pact, a promise. It was an oath about trust and making it for the other one and in some way, an oath about love. He would make it for her, he would honor her because he loved her and he wouldn't just give up because he knew she wouldn't have wanted him to. The flower may have been simple and plain and obviously, the lilacs were better. But their relationship was simple and plain, so he thought his flower was more important. Flowers were his thing, and Tyreese was stealing that from him.

"They are not as beautiful as you, ma'am."

Daryl snorted loudly before he could catch himself. He quickly turned around and focused on feeding little Judith. They both turned to look at him, Tyreese shrugging it off easily. Carol, on the other hand, immediately furrowed her brows and was about to start talking when Tyreese cut her off.

"I have to go help Sasha with the old people from Woodbury," Carol nodded, her eyes locked on the back of Daryl's head, "I'll come around later?"

Carol turned to Tyreese, a tight smile on her face, "Yeah, sure."

With a smile and a nod, Tyreese was gone. Daryl mentally cursed himself. He shouldn't have done that, but he couldn't stop it. Right before the asshole had walked in, they had been happily feeding the baby, Carol pushing spoons of baby food into her mouth as Daryl made faces and jokes so Judy would eat. It was domestic and strange and completely new to Daryl, but it felt good. It felt right. Merle would've called him a pussy, laughed and mocked him and would've never let him live this down. But Merle was not there anymore, and as much as it hurt him, he was sometimes glad.

Once the the cell block door was closed, Carol marched up to him, setting the flowers beside Judith. She stood in front of him, her eyes questioning and her posture firm. She didn't say a word, she never did. He would end up saying something stupid one way or another.

He was about to give Judith her formula when he noticed the baby had grabbed the flowers. She held the bouquet in front of her and instead of smiling, just like Daryl thought she would do, she started tearing them apart and throwing it back oton the table. Daryl let out a surprised chuckle, patting her head affectionately.

"That's my ass kicker."

Carol even smiled herself before she turned her attention back on Daryl. He bit his lip and returned to feeding Judy. He tried to pass it off nonchalantly, but Carol could see right through him and he knew it, so he might as well get it over with.

"You and your boyfriend goin' on a date tonight?" He mentally slapped himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Carol scoffed, "He's not my boyfriend, Daryl."

"Could've fooled me." He bit hard onto his bottom lip. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

"Careful, Dixon," she joked, "Keep saying stuff like that and I'm gonna start thinking you have a thing for me."

There she goes, he thought. Always flirting with him, but it was always a joke. He always told himself not to get his hopes up because he wouldn't end up rejected and licking his wounds in his cell. So he did what he always did in times like this.

He chuckled.

Carol smiled, a real grin this time. She looked over at Judith and noticed she was hitting the bouquet against the table. She moved over to stand beside him, staring adoringly at the baby girl.

"She doesn't like the flowers."

Daryl smirked, "She don't have bad taste."

Carol giggled as her cheeks flushed. Daryl was jealous. Or at least, that's what she liked to think. That he liked her back and didn't want her to be with any other man. That she was his and Tyreese wasn't allowed to flirt with her because she was taken. But he would never say that, cause _she_ was the fool who had fallen in love with him, not the other way around. And she would never do anything about it because she didn't want to lose him, not again. The thought was too painful and unbearable to her.

She shook those depressing thoughts out of her head, bumping her shoulder against his, an easy smile playing on her lips.

"And do I have bad taste?"

He gave her a slight smile, "Depends. You like 'em?"

She bit her lip and started walking away, only stopping at the gate with a huge grin on her face, her eyes glimmering and sending him a wink, "I think I like Cheeroke roses better."

Daryl smiled.


End file.
